CIRCA 1895-97, IRON-RED REPUBLIC FRANCAISE MARK FOR 1897 AND GREEN LOZENGE MARK FOR 1895, INDISTINCT INCISED POTTER'S MARK, SIGNED RODIN

In 1879 Rodin joined the Sèvres porcelain factory as 'an extraordinary member, non-permanent, paid monthly 170 francs, 3 francs per hour'. He was hired by his friend, the sculptor Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887), then the artistic director of the factory. Sèvres had a long tradition of working with sculptors, and for Rodin it was a great opportunity to improve his financial situation. He worked there until the end of 1882. Subsequently, Rodin embarked on the long process of creating his monumental masterpiece, La porte de l'Enfer, in which part of the figures of Les Limbes reappeared.

Les Limbes et Les Syrènes, produced on the vase form 'Saigon' designed by Carrier-Belleuse, was part of a series of three vases created in 1880 by Rodin in collaboration with the sculptor Jules Desbois (1851-1935) and executed in different pastel colors.